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“But you’re not a parent. How did you know how to care for them? Every time I asked you’d tell me to focus on the task before I tried to diaper the wrong end of the pup. As if. I at least knew that much.”

“The way you were going about things with that diaper, I wasn’t sure,” Lysander replied, the contents of his plate half-finished now.

Logan’s was in a similar state, as he swirled meat and stuffing through the sauce, the candied orange peel in the stuffing added bursts of flavor.

“Are there cherry slivers in your stuffing?” Logan asked, peering at Lysander’s plate.

“There sure are. The tartness balances the sweetness of the sauce perfectly,” Lysander said, a slight dreamy look in his eye as he studied the remainder of his meal.

Logan had never seen that look on his face before.

“Is it too much to hope that maybe Emari could be the mate I’ve been hoping for?” Lysander pondered.

Oh.

Oh shit.

Fuck.

What to say?

How to respond?

Would telling him that Emari had recently discovered his mate and that it was Rusty’s brother Flame discourage Lysander from spending more time with him? That was the last thing he wanted to do. Unfortunately, the other last thing he wanted to be responsible for was Lysander going into a situation blind when Logan could have given him a heads up.

“What’s that look for?” Lysander asked. “I’ll get it out of you one way or another so you might as well make it easy so we can enjoy the rest of this delicious food.”

So much for his legendry poker face. He’d learned early on that trying to bluff Lysander only led to failure, so he didn’t try. Logan had already made up his mind to tell him anyway. Might as well just rip the Band-Aid off now that he’d tipped his hand.

“Emari and Rusty’s brother Flame have a bondmark,” Logan explained. “It’s a recent development and Emari rejected him do to some poor choices and crappy behavior on Flame’s part. Was trying to think of the best way to warn you without completely bringing down your mood.”

“Flame? He’s the wolf laid up at the clinic, right? I heard some rumblings about that when I was exploring downtown. Snowmobile accident. Some wolves headed out right after to clear that trail and make it more accessible.”

“It’s the only path out to his grandparent’s house. Flame has Sunday dinner with them and was on his way home when he misjudged a curve and went over the embankment.”

“Ouch.”

“He’s on the mend now. Emari came and sat with us for several days and talked to him a few times but that’s all I know.”

“Thanks. I’ll tread carefully.”

“You always do.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

(Rusty)

“Sure you’re up for this?” Rusty asked as he opened the door for Flame, who was still getting the hang of using a walking stick to get around.

He’d refused the crutches and balked at using the cane, so he’d remained in the clinic for three extra days until he could manage to do more than hobble around while leaning on the walking stick Rusty had carved for him.

Bigger than the scepter Rusty had given Flame when they were children, it had offered Rusty the chance to sink his whittling knife into a piece of wood again, resulting in a wicked 8-ball on the top of the staff, giving Flame something extra to hold onto.

“Sitting on the floor and letting pups crawl all over me?” Flame asked as he slowly stepped inside and maneuvered to the bench by the door so he could sit and remove his boots.

“Why is the floor so far away?” Flame grumbled as he bent, every movement gingerly executed as he tried to reach the laces.

“Need a hand with those?” Rusty asked.